A burlesque show, SocieTease, held partially outside of a bar in St John’s Street in Valletta over the weekend, drew strong backlash from capital city’s mayor Alfred Zammit, who said he had complained to the police about it.

But, while on the one hand the Valletta pressure group Residenti Beltin believes that such performances should be held in a controlled environment indoors, its founder said that this is all a stunt now that local council elections are coming.

The performers themselves have defended the show, with one of them, Bella Stardust, telling The Malta Independent on Sunday that this is another attempt at female censorship.

Out of the three burlesque acts of SocieTease lasting a few minutes each, 2 were done outside of the bar and 1 was done inside, Stardust said. When asked if Zammit had taken any formal action against them, she said that they had received nothing yet.

Stardust claimed that this was not the first time that their performances, which she said are designed to attract attention and start a conversation, like any good art-piece should, had their work “weaponised” for a political agenda. She recalled the incident when a burlesque show, which she also took part in, also resulted in political backlash.  

Billy McBee, founder of the pressure group Residenti Beltin, said that Alfred Zammit “jumped” to attention on this matter only because local council elections are fast approaching. He said the grievances of Valletta residents, whom they represent, have been falling on the deaf ears of both political parties. McBee said that in the past they had gone to both government and the opposition with complaints and evidence but nothing was done. Due to this, the group is “white flag” and independent denoting their non-partisan alignment.

Zammit told Times of Malta that such events should not be happening on the street, let alone close to a church.

But Valletta residents have more to complain about other than this particular event.

According to McBee, there is a total lack of discipline around Valletta, that everyone “does as they please” going as far as to call it “Paceville number 2” He clarified that the group’s statement calling Valletta a “brothel” was a direct translation of a Maltese expression “burdell” referring to the unchecked noise and youngsters wreaking havoc in the streets and behind people’s doors.

McBee explicitly said that he is not against burlesque and does recognise it as an artform which actually has a history of performance in Strada Stretta (Strait Street). He went as far as to say “hats off” to one of last Saturday’s performers, Undine La Verve, and praised her professionalism. He does believe however that burlesque shows must be held indoors.

He said that in the past should a youngster have entered a Strada Stretta show, he would have been escorted out. Furthermore, McBee did agree with Zammit’s claim that such shows should not be held near churches. Otherwise, McBee said he has no objection to it.

In response to this, Stardust said that one cannot throw a stone in Malta without hitting some religious icon. In the bigger picture however, she said that it reflects the old school mentality of the country – that a woman is always seen in relation to others i.e as a mother, sister, etc as opposed to being an independent, standalone woman. She remarked how ironic it is that Women’s Day just passed since the one of the core ideas of burlesque is to do things on your own terms and for yourself. She said that the idea of female nudity, which she explicitly said is not done in burlesque, always grabs attention.

Stardust explained that eroticism is but one small facet of burlesque which is the art of the tease, the art of grabbing attention by the illusion of nudity. With this illusion, attention is grabbed and the audience is then open to receive an artistic message from the performer. Scanty clothes are not necessary, she said. Indeed, burlesque can be done in jeans and a t-shirt should the performer like. However, extravagant outfits are favoured to exaggerate the female form. She insisted that nudity is not part of burlesque.

When asked if he could point out the artistic difference between a nude statue or painting and the burlesque art-form, McBee said that a statue is “under control” whilst the performers of burlesque are prone to a “wardrobe malfunction” in public.

Asked the same question, Stardust said it is common sense that should a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ occur, anyone would do anything to cover up and they are no exception. That said, a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ is simply an accident, there is no intention to be naked in the middle of the street. She continued in saying that as a sculptor uses rock as his medium, burlesque is her medium by use of her body, costumes, music and movement. The art-form is highly multi-sensory. Stardust also said that burlesque is being misrepresented in the media by videos capturing a “single second” of a performer making a sexual movement. She said that this is akin to having your whole life judged on a single second.

McBee remained adamant that public decency must be adhered to and when questioned if any persons were ever caught scantily dressed within the city, for example in a swimsuit, he said that actions were taken and they were fined.

In response to McBee’s insistence on indoor performance, Stardust protested saying that amateur artists who simply wish to express themselves not only are not catered for but the burlesque community in particular which is alive and passionate, as can be seen on social media or at their shows are actually losing stages where they could perform. Burlesque, its performers and its fans are being “squeezed out”, she concluded.